The high caliber of academics can be seen in Nashville Catholic schools, which provide a strong educational foundation in pre-K through high school.

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Rebecca Hammel became the Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Nashville in August of 2018.

As a fairly new — and delighted — transplant to Nashville, I’ve had quite a few conversations that begin or end with people telling me how much the city has changed.

From these conversations and from my own research, I’ve come to understand that, yes, Nashville is a city on the rise, but it is also a city with very important history, and that is something to cherish.

As superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Nashville, I’m thinking of our city’s history this week as we celebrate National Catholic Schools Week.

Catholic schools have been a vital part of this area’s educational landscape since before the Civil War: St. Patrick’s was founded in McEwen in 1856, St. Cecilia in 1860, St. Bernard in 1866, and Sacred Heart schools in Loretto in 1872 and Lawrenceburg in 1873, to cite a few examples.

High caliber of academics define our schools

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Teacher Sherrie Hill helps students in the fourth grade class at the St. Matthew Catholic School in Franklin, Tenn., Monday, Oct. 30, 2017.(Photo11: Lacy Atkins / The Tennessean)

Four simple words define National Catholic Schools Week this year. Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed. They represent qualities any parent would hope to see cultivated in their child, and I’m proud to say that the 19 Catholic schools in Middle Tennessee are delivering on these promises every day.

Several of the area’s Catholic schools have been recognized as elite institutions of learning. St. Matthew, Holy Rosary Academy, and St. Bernard have each been named National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education, placing them in the top 15 percent of all schools in the nation.

But, the high caliber of academics can be seen in all our schools, which provide a strong educational foundation in pre-K and continue through high school.

Our system of schools has produced exemplary graduates who have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields and communities, and who represent the diversity that our faith has always championed.

For example, Nashville’s Catholic schools have produced the inventor of the world’s first expandable rib for pediatric patients, the first African-American Chief Judge of Court of Appeals in Missouri, and many nationally known and celebrated journalists.

In addition to supporting and educating our multiple National Merit Scholars, we believe in supporting and educating students with learning differences. In partnership with Vanderbilt University, we offer a specialized Hand-in-Hand program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities at John Paul II High School and Saint Ann School (PK-8), and next year St. Matthew will welcome Hand-in-Hand students.

We are a tight-knit community in a changing city

Our schools now provide parents a choice for keeping students together with their peers in a nurturing environment where all students learn the most important of life lessons: love one another.

Service to others is a vital component of a Catholic education, as important as anything we teach. Compassion, empathy and service are woven into the very fabric of each school’s culture through frequent service projects, social justice initiatives, and daily faith formation.

Today, with relatively small class sizes, Nashville’s Catholic schools provide students with numerous opportunities to lead in the classroom, on the playing field, or in other extracurricular activities such as drama, band, Student Council, and Forensics to name a few.

Our commitment to the tight-knit community you’ll find in our schools leads directly to the ultimate goal: students who are confident in themselves and their greater purpose in life, young men and women well-prepared academically and spiritually for whatever lies ahead.

So much has changed in our city, but one of the things that has remained constant is the quality of education provided by the area’s Catholic schools. Please join me in congratulating them, their administration, their teachers, and their families on their service to Nashville’s children and our community.

A Leon County sheriff's deputy in Florida shoots a family's dog in its own yard while visiting without telling family members to just put him up or on a leash. The cartoonist's homepage, tallahassee.com/opinion Nathan Archer, Tallahassee Democrat

The farm bill, which included stricter work requirements for receiving food stamps, failed May 18, 2018, in the House of Representatives. The cartoonist's homepage, freep.com/opinion/mike-thompson Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press